Action Spotlight

End the war and blockade in Yemen imposed by the Saudi-led coalition which the U.S. is refueling. Urge your Representative to co-sponsor the Khanna-Massie resolution. Urge your Rep. to take action!
Img: Medecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders)

September 2016

The Senate is expected to vote Wednesday on overriding the President's veto of the Justice Against Sponsors of Terror Act [JASTA]. This bill would remove Saudi Arabia's immunity from lawsuits brought by 9/11 families over the alleged responsibility of Saudi officials for the 9/11 attacks. Override of the President's veto would be a historic repudiation of the previously unaccountable U.S.-Saudi relationship, which has been a root cause of many terribly destructive wars in the region, including the war in Yemen and the war in Syria.

Call your Senator now at (202) 224-3121. When you reach a staffer or leave a message, you can say something like:

"I urge you to vote to override the veto of the Justice Against Sponsors of Terror Act, so 9/11 families can have their day in court against the Saudi government."

When you've made your call, please report it below.

Then call your other Senator at (202) 224-3121. When you reach a staffer or leave a message, you can say something like:

"I urge you to vote to override the veto of the Justice Against Sponsors of Terror Act, so 9/11 families can have their day in court against the Saudi government."

When you've made your call, please report it below.

And if you haven't signed our petition to Congress yet urging that the veto of JASTA be overridden, you can do that here.

This week the House and Senate are expected to vote on whether to override the President's veto of the Justice Against Sponsors of Terror Act ["JASTA"]. JASTA would allow 9/11 families to sue Saudi Arabia over allegations Saudi officials were linked to the 9/11 attacks. The bill makes no judgment about Saudi Arabia's responsibility for the attacks. It just removes Saudi Arabia's immunity from lawsuit over support for terrorist attacks on U.S. soil. Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders both support the bill.

Call your Representative now at (202) 224-3121. When you reach a staffer or leave a message, you can say something like:

"I urge you to vote the override the President's veto of the Saudi 9/11 bill so the 9/11 families can have their day in court."

When you've made your call, please report it below.

Under current U.S. law, Americans can sue Iran for terrorism in U.S. courts, but they can't sue Saudi Arabia for terrorism in U.S. courts, because Iran is on the State Department's "state sponsor of terror" list and Saudi Arabia is not. The State Department is allowed to take "broader U.S. foreign policy interests" besides concern about support for terrorism into account in forming its list - like the Saudi government's cozy relationship with the C.I.A.

The following Senators voted against tabling a motion to stop the sale of $1.15 billion in tanks and other military equipment to Saudi Arabia. Effectively, these Senators were voicing opposition to the sale.

You can never be sure what the Senate will vote on and when they will vote on it. But currently, a vote on the Paul-Murphy-Lee-Franken resolution to disapprove the Saudi arms deal is expected Tuesday.

Call your Senator now at (202) 224-3121. When you reach a staffer or leave a message, you can say something like,

"I urge you to vote YES on SJ Res 39, the Paul-Murphy-Lee-Franken resolution to disapprove the Saudi arms deal."

When you've made your call, please report it below.

Human Rights Watch says hundreds of civilians—including at least 200 children—have been killed so far in U.S.-enabled unlawful Saudi airstrikes in Yemen. But despite extensive documentation by Human Rights Watch of these violations, the US continues to fuel the conflict. After selling over $20 billion dollars in weapons to Saudi Arabia in 2015, some in Washington want to add another $1.15 billion dollars in arms sales.

The fate of the corporate-rigged Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is being decided right now. Dozens of organizations are working together to make TODAY a nationwide TPP Call-In Day to press our Representatives to publicly announce their opposition to the TPP before the election.

Call your Representative now at (202) 224-3121. When you reach a staffer or leave a message, you can say something like:

"I urge you to make a public statement in opposition to the TPP now, before the election."

When you've made your call, please report it below.

TPP backers are working now to generate enough congressional support to pass the deal in a lame-duck session of Congress, after the election. We can foil their plan if we force members of Congress to take a public position against the agreement now, before Election Day.

The TPP would grant corporations new rights to sue the U.S. and other governments before a panel of corporate lawyers that can award unlimited sums, including for loss of future expected profits, to be paid by taxpayers when corporations claim government policies violate the new entitlements the TPP would promise them. In practice, the U.S. is likely to change its policies rather than pay TPP claims, and for poorer countries, it's not even a realistic choice. Even the threat of a TPP lawsuit is likely to deter a poorer country from exercising its rights.

Call your Representative now at (202) 224-3121 to urge them to issue a public statement opposing the TPP.

We've made petitions localized to each state where we have a plausible story that there's a Senator there who could be an early co-sponsor of the resolution against the Saudi arms deal - if they heard a groundswell from constituents.

If your state is on the following list, please click the state's link to sign and share the petition for your state, directed to your Senator(s).